Belene the Elf: Saved by Death
by ShrykeMeishido
Summary: In this story, Belene the elf is 'saved' by an act of kindness from the likes of someone she would least expect. With nothing left of home, Belene devotes study to the way of the blade, and what it means to be a true warrior - in the strangest of places, with even stranger people.


_This story tells the tale of our heroine, Belene Astarri and her ventures in the world of Azeroth and beyond. The tragic tale of how and why she took up a blade. The determination of this elf knows no boundaries._

 **Prologue**

A young night elf sat, patiently waiting for the critter to do something. The furry creature stared back at the elf, and the elf stared back at the creature. Its moist black eyes seemed to have infinite depth. Its bushy tail flicked with nervousness whenever the elf blinked. The squirrel tilted its head with a nervous curiosity. The elf too, tilted her head with nervous curiosity. She blinked exactly twice more, and then spoke. "Well!? Aren'tcha going to eat the nut?!" She shouted, raising her hands up high and scaring off the poor animal. "WAIT!" She yelled after it, bringing her hands in closer to her body in dismay while getting up.

The elf in question was chid-like in mind and features. She stood head-to-head with your typical dwarf, though she had never seen one in person before. She had ever-curious eyes that gave off a pale blue glow. No matter where she looked, her eyes were always curious and wide. Her lips were a deeper purple than her soft lavender skin tone, matching her equally deep purple hair. Her hair at this moment was tangled and un-brushed, as if the child had been neglecting her normal grooming routine. Even though she was a bit of a ruffian the child was still cute. She had a soft, squeaky voice to compliment her small, curious stature. And her name was –

"Belene Astarri!" Came the voice of a happy mother. "What have you gotten into? Look at your hair – young lady, what are you **wearing!?"** Belene bashfully looked to the side, largely ignoring these comments. "Nuthin' " She rebutted softly while peering into the bush where the squirrel had run off into. She looked down at the acorn that sat untouched on the old tree stump. She quickly grabbed it in her small fingers and stuffed it into a pocket of her frilly pale nightgown. "Go change this **instant,** and stop wandering off!" The woman sighed, kneeling down to put a hand on Belene's shoulder. The child often found mischief even in places where there was none. At least when she was touched, Elra knew her daughter was listening.

The caring elf had soft features still - untouched by age, battle or loss. She had a gown woven of leather and leaves, as was the latest fashion at this time among her people. "I swear, you worry me." Her soft hands were stained purple from the berries she had been picking. Off to the side was a woven basket filled with loads of freshly picked leaves and berries. Belene looked at her mother's face. The two looked very similar, though Belene had higher cheekbones that she had gotten from her father. "Go dress, and mind your sister. She's busy studying." Belene nodded at her mother's words and hurried off without much more than a "Yes ma"

She hopped over some twigs on the ground, picking up a stick among them that was half as wide as her forearm, and about as long as her arm itself. She swung it around a few times. "Hiyah!" She shrieked as she whacked a puddle with it, and then a tree. "Well well well, human." She said, with her hands on her hips. Her still, wooden adversary groaned as the wind rustled it's leaves above. "You're not supposed to be here on elf lands. Now we're gonna' take you away!" She threatened a particularly large chunk of bark with her stick. "Oh? Going to resist huh? Well that's ok. I am Belene Astarri, the **warden**!"

She yelled as she hit the tree with the stick as hard as she could. She felt the vibration through her arm as the stick broke with a splintering crack. She inspected her damaged weapon and stared back at the tree. "Okay. You win this time I guess." She waggled a finger at the tree and tossed the stick into the puddle. The dawn had brought a light rain shower with it this morning, and so the earth was still damp with the morning's tears. She hopped over the puddle, and ran off to the cabin they were staying at.

It took a full five minutes before she reached it, breathing through her mouth from the exertion of a brisk forest run from the berry bushes to the cabin. "Hey! Sis? Milea?" She called out as she strode into the doorway. The shawl was open, so the cabin's table was visible from a distance. Belene entered, looking all about. There were several chairs and two tables, none of which her sister were at. "I'm up here" came a rather mature voice. "I'm busy, leave me alone." The voice added as an afterthought. Belene pouted, hopping into a chair at the table. There were an assortment of books on there she began to sift through, looking at the pictures. Books on elvish history, weapons, battle tactics. Far too advanced for the young elf, but she did quite enjoy the pictures. "Cool!" She yelped as a page opened up detailing the design of a sentinel glaive. Her greedy eyes absorbed all the information they could on the page. She found herself kicking her feet in enjoyment as she grappled the book onto her lap.

"Oh no. What are you doing?" The voice finally had physical form as a lithe elf descended from the upper floor. "Please don't touch those. I'm not done with them yet." The littlest elf looked at her in surprise. "Kay' " She spoke, putting the book back on the table. She walked over to her sister and handed her the acorn from her nightgown. "Here." Belene offered, putting it into her hand. The older elf looked different from Belene and her mother, but they were clearly still related. Her skin had a more pink tone, and her hair a lighter blue hue. She was tall, and quite skinny. "What is this? An acorn? You dork, I don't want this." She placed the acorn gently on top of a wooden shelf. "Where are you going now?" Little Belene walked past her sister, going up to her room. Belene was so lost in her own world, she didn't seem to hear the annoyed cries of her older sister. "Fine. Don't touch my stuff while you're up there."

 _The family since then had gotten to enjoy many, many days of happy and peaceful times. Elra Astarri and her children continued to grow in body and in spirit. When war and unrest began to break out across the land, their father was sent off to war. They had not seen them since. Milea had a sneaking suspicion that he had died, and that their mother was hiding it from them. Belene thought otherwise, she though their dad would return someday when there was peace across the factions. Milea – an intelligent mind for her time – continued her studies in hopes of someday joining the sentinels. Sadly, her weak heart made it very difficult for her to apply exertion in a task as extreme as battle. She was certainly set up for failure, many nights had Belene found her sister passed out, having fainted from training too harshly. In contrast, Belene had always wanted to be an adventurer and see the world, rather than be confined to her own homeland. When Milea finally came of age, she had prepared to be accepted into the ranks of the sentinels – only to be met with disappointment._

"Milea?" Belene softly knocked on the door. "I… I heard the news. Are you okay?" Belene stood listening, her ears twitching every time she thought she heard any kind of noise from the other side of the door. "I'm out here you know. In case you need me." She waited a moment longer before walking off to go sit on the balcony.

Older now, Belene had grown into her features. Her adventurous nature had persisted through her childhood to now, the stages of early adulthood. Her sister had just been denied her dream of becoming a sentinel, all because of a frail heart. Milea had trained as harshly as her heart would allow though the truth was that her skill with a blade was novice at best, though she was incredibly smart and knew her way around a bow. She called it her saving grace.

Belene sighed as she sat on the balcony, watching the sun set on the horizon in the distance. She felt bad for Milea. She felt bad for her mom, too. Their dad had been gone for such a long time, it was hard on everyone – especially Elra. She wished the war had not come to them and that their dad could come home. Why were the Horde so ruthless? She understood why the sentinels were often so harsh and strong toward others. She was certain it was because others left them no choice but to be harsh and wary of outsiders. Tomorrow, they would leave this place. They would travel to the human city of Stormwind by boat, and everything would be better there. Or so she had hoped. Belene couldn't shake a bad feeling from the back of her mind though.


End file.
